The Nidaime
by Sillusion
Summary: Tobirama Senju was the Nidaime Hokage. Where other Kage have had their stories told, their backgrounds fleshed out through historical books and wonderous legends, Tobirama had not. But this was mostly because nobody had lived to tell the tale.
1. Chapter 1

The Nidaime

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: Tobirama Senju was the Nidaime Hokage. Where other Kage have had their stories told, and had their backgrounds fleshed out through historical books and lessons at the Academy, Tobirama had not. But this was mostly because he _alone_ wanted to tell his story.

Author's Note: While I was reading the last chapter of the Naruto manga, I realised that Uncle Tobirama didn't really get the attention he deserved. In fact, I think he's highly underrated. So as an Easter gift, I decided to write his life story. Enjoy!

* * *

First Contact

Tobirama Senju was a proud man. He had developed powerful techniques, abilities that were unmatched in battle, and a tactical prowess that outstripped every other clan in the Elemental Nations. Tobirama was the second-in-command of the Senju clan, a powerful family that now worked independently in Fire country. The Senju were known as a beloved clan, one that would cater to a person's needs no matter how severe. But this reputation did not stem from the leader of the Senju, rather, it stemmed from Tobirama.

The Senju's leader was the strongest of ninja, Hashirama Senju: Tobirama's elder half-brother. Their mother had been a beautiful woman, who had been married twice. Once to Hashirama's father (who had disappeared mysteriously and had never been seen again) and once to Tobirama's own birth father who had a similar fate. They had grown up together under her leadership, and upon Hashirama's sixteenth birthday, she had died. Thus, Hashirama (as the eldest of her progeny) took the lead of the clan upon himself.

Within the year Hashirama had led them to greatness. He had moved the wandering clan to a single place, which they could call home, and for that he was praised above all others. Tobirama applauded him alongside the others of the clan; after all it was a genius decision! Fire country was a land of fantastic opportunity: the land was fertile, the women beautiful, and it was inhabited by a single major clan other than their own; the Uchiha clan.

* * *

"Hey Tobi, hurry up!" Hashirama shouted gleefully, as the pair raced through the treetops of a small forest.

"I'm coming," Tobirama grumbled, "Trust him to start off on a mission like this when I've just upgraded my weights. If we meet any enemies I'll be a sitting duck." Tobirama was a good-looking man, with strong features and a narrow jaw. He wore weights to train his body in strength, and build his already large form. He was a tall and muscular man, like his father. What the clan thought was strange, was that he had inherited almost none of his mother's, and _most_ of his fraternal genes: the unruly gray hair, the deep and slanted red eyes, and pale skin that would be more likely to be seen upon a nobleman.

He continued to pounce gracefully between the trees, and noted that they were getting further and further away from each other, 'I must be getting closer to the edge of the forest,' he noted interestedly. His elder brother was twenty feet away from him now, and Hashirama gestured for him to stop his movement, and so he did. 'He must have found the target.' Tobirama nodded his understanding, and braced himself at the top of a large (and hopefully stable) elm tree.

'Tobi' as his brother always called him, was often seen with a smile and good humour, which contrasted so heavily with the armoured mask that he wore into battle. It was made of plates of solid steel, and it was moulded to fit his head exactly. His face was visible, but it covered both his forehead and the sides of his head. Despite his apparent readiness for battle, the second-in-command always took time to talk to the villages of Fire country and was always one to accept their missions, while Hashirama was aimed more towards the bigger picture, like the answering the calls of the Daimyo's court.

Their current target was one that had been selected by his brother, and he was the ninja that had assassinated the previous Fire Daimyo. The current and succeeding Daimyo was the last's son and he had inherited the seat of power. In revenge had set the bounty on the assassin's head at fifty-million ryo- the highest bounty the Elemental Nations had ever seen. If just two members of the Senju managed to capture this bounty, they would be renowned worldwide, their notoriety would be unmatched, and their capabilities broadcasted to every potential enemy. Hashirama nodded firmly, and he began to balance his body and spirit to forcibly drag out his chakra.

Hashirama unlike Tobirama had inherited a dark skin from his mother and father, and they too had inherited this from their own parents. He was the direct legacy of the Senju, and his blood, unlike Tobirama's was undiluted and 'pure.' Hashirama was a tall man, much like his brother, and he was very prideful in the fact that he just an extra bit taller. However like his father, his body-type was lean, and his structure was not as well built for close combat like Tobirama was. Hashirama was seen as a direct opposite to Tobirama, with long brown hair and a single red vest which was used to stop kunai and low-level weaponry.

Also, Hashirama, unlike most other members of the Senju clan had the ability to call upon the Mokuton, the power to manipulate both wood and trees and bend them to their will. The Mokuton was a blend of both Suiton, (the manipulation of water) and Doton (the manipulation of earth) and with them combined, Hashirama was capable of creating wonderful works of natural beauty or on the other side of the spectrum, brilliant and creative scenes of death.

Tobirama understood that he would never be able to call upon nature as Hashirama did- he knew he could never _create life_. But he could feel whenever his brother drew upon this power; due to his own affinity with water he could feel the water particles around him. 'Hashirama is amazing,' Tobi thought with awe, 'He knows not to draw water from moist earth, as his techniques are more effective the softer the ground is. He knows that he has to draw it from the air itself and he rearranges the particles and oxygen around himself and the environment just to use it… and it's all instinctual.'

The Senju clan leader charged his body with energy, and he pushed his hand in front of him, the palm towards the sky. He clenched his fingers, and stretched out his first and second fingers; he used them to control the power he had gathered. Hashirama slowly raised his hand, and once it reached the level of his chin he turned to face his brother, "Now," he intoned.

The target looked around suddenly when he noticed the shift in the air around him, "Shit, it's the Senju!" he cursed, and he quickly moved abandoned his camp. Tobi, however, had shot forwards, and he descended towards the forest floor with a single leap. He wrapped his hands quickly around a bare branch, and used it to whip himself forwards, and kick their target in the back. Hashirama took their enemy by surprise, and an enormous wooden cage burst from the ground beneath their prey, the bars quickly enveloped the prone body with ease.

"Let's see who it is then," Hashirama said casually, and he dropped to the floor beside Tobirama, and started to inspect the camp. The target moaned pitifully in pain, and Hashirama tutted, "For an Uchiha you sure didn't put up much of a fight," he continued conversationally.

Tobi frowned. While he was the more approachable of the two in public and out of battle, he was certainly the more cautious in-battle and definitely uncomfortable with what he would consider to be a careless way to deal with their captive- especially careless, considering that it was an _Uchiha_. He looked at the man's face carefully, 'A young man,' he noticed, 'Not quite a man, but certainly not a boy. He looks very similar to the Uchiha head…'

Hashirama grunted, "It's about two now, and in this letter here it says that some of his comrades'll be here to escort him back to his base, right about now."

Tobirama's eyes widened in surprise, "An escort? Only somebody important would get that," he nodded slowly, "That just about confirms it, the assassin we were after must have been Izuna Uchiha, Madara's own brother." Their captive cursed in response, and attempted to wriggle out of his bonds.

The head of the Senju looked at the Uchiha's own second-in-command with interest, "I'm very familiar with your brother you know? He's a strong man."

"Why did you kill the Daimyo?" Tobi asked calmly, 'Nothing good can come from aggravating him like brother is trying to do…'

"I do what I want!" Izuna replied haughtily, "And I'm just as strong as my brother!"

Hashirama blinked, "Is that so? You must be a prodigy then," he said agreeably, "I would have liked for us to have fought one day, but I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"Madara will kill you!" Izuna promised, "He's coming for me right now!"

Tobirama nodded his agreement, "He would _try_ to kill us if he found us, but together we would defeat him with ease."

Hashirama hummed in acceptance, "That is true, and luckily, we'll be gone by the time he gets here," he seemed to think for a moment, "and you will be dead." Izuna Uchiha braced himself, and he felt the wooden confines tighten around him for a moment, and his heart blood beat into his brain in a painful rhythm.

"Let him go, Senju," a voice called over the loud silence of the forest and Hashirama and Tobirama shared a look of irritation.

"Madara Uchiha," Hashirama greeted, "How good it is to see you."

"I'm afraid I cannot be pleased to see _you_," Madara said dryly as he landed before them, "Now release my brother." Madara's eyes were locked on Hashirama alone, and vice-versa.

Tobi on the otherhand looked towards the ten Uchiha behind Madara and noticed they were all inexperienced, "These are hardly a challenge, I could take them if need be Hashirama."

"… I don't think that is necessary," Hashirama said softly, "I know you do not want to kill them all. It changes you, I know it does."

Tobirama frowned once more, "I would do it for the Senju clan, my soul be damned."

"I don't want you to have to kill anymore Tobi," Hashirama replied firmly, "Nor anyone of the Senju."

Madara broke his eye contact with Hashirama, and his eyes started to bleed into the Sharingan, "What do you have in mind Hashirama? Surely you do not think you can incapacitate us and take Izuna to the Daimyo."

"I do not want Izuna to die either," Hashirama paused, "What if we were to create an alliance between us?"

Tobirama bowed his head and thought the idea over, "That would surely be a solution to our problems. No other travelling ninja would stand against the might of our clans and the Daimyo would accept we would not kill Izuna for this purpose."

"So what?" Madara said blandly, "We all walk away happily and nobody is ever killed again?"

"Do you not understand?" Tobi cut in indignantly, "My brother wants to save your lives! He wants the two strongest clans in the world to be coexistent. By doing this, others would likely follow our example, and one day we may even be able to have _total_ peace."

Madara snorted derisively, "So, what? We agree to this alliance just like that? What if we say no?"

"If you say no, I would still let Izuna go," Hashirama said sagely, "And I would tell the Daimyo that the assassin escaped." Izuna stayed silent throughout the conversation, painfully aware that his life swung in the balance.

The Uchiha head sighed loudly, "Trust the Senju to think of something so ludicrous that it might just work," the pause was ominous, "How would we know that you would not betray us?"

"You wouldn't," Hashirama answered innocently, "But we would be running the same risk, don't you think?"

"We would need something to solidify our continued peace," Madara argued, "It was your choice to pursue this course; surely you must have something to offer?"

Tobirama stayed silent, and Hashirama pulled a sword from a sheath on his side, "I have nothing to offer you, if you don't want peace you won't agree with anything I give you."

Madara spat at their feet, "I knew it! All of it is empty promises, my clan would laugh at me if I agreed to such an offer."

"If you had taken our offer, your forces would leave here alive," Tobi said stonily, "You'd be lucky if your clan ever even found out the offer existed." Tobirama darted forwards immediately, and planted a powerful drop kick into one of the Uchiha novices. The Uchiha collapsed backwards in a heap, the majority of his ribs cracked, and another three of the Uchiha fell down with him. As soon as the others noticed what had happened Tobirama got back to his feet, the gray-haired Senju elbowed one of the Uchiha in the neck and moved diagonally to deliver a nasty uppercut to another's chin.

He faced the Uchiha directly in front of him who was paralysed by his fear, and he headbutted him with a painful crack. Tobirama felt one of the Uchiha approach quickly from behind and bent forwards instinctively, only for the Uchiha who had tried to rush him from behind to flip over him and land face to face with Tobi. With a moment of regret he sliced the Uchiha's throat open with his kunai and blood spluttered from the slit like a barely active volcano. The remaining ninja shouted pitifully, and ran towards him quickly- but not quickly enough, Tobirama dodged underneath a stream of fire that burst from one of their mouths, and rolled to the side to avoid a barrage of kunai. When he broke out of the roll he found himself in front of yet another of them, who tried to cut him in half with a _very _sharp looking sword.

He blocked the sword with his own sheathed weapon, and kicked the girl in the face with a painful boot that broke her nose and sent blood slopping down her front. She ignored the blood and her pain and managed to get back to her feet, she swung her sword angrily at him yet again, only to find he had gone. 'It's a pity,' Tobirama thought sadly as he broke her neck from behind, 'She was what… fourteen? She would have been a beautiful woman in the years ahead.' Frustrated roars met his ears like an old friend, and he leapt from his position to the branch of a tree, and the remaining four fighters streamed after him. Tobi watched them move, one moved fluidly and lead the group as if they were skilled at taijutsu, another moved slowly and was the last of the group and was more than likely a genjutsu user. The two in the middle moved at an average pace, and it seemed they were likely taijutsu hybrids with either skill in ninjutsu or genjutsu.

'How tedious,' Tobirama thought grimly, and he met the taijutsu fighter head on. The Uchiha jumped to the branch and twisted on the spot, clearly aiming to take off Tobi's head with a high-kick. Tobi blocked it easily with his hand, and took the man's remaining leg from underneath him; the Uchiha fell from the branch and landed on forest floor. The hybrids now joined him, and one moved quickly forwards and managed to land a hit on his leg with a swift kick, the hybrid then tried to punch him, hoping to knock him from the tree. Tobirama grabbed his outstretched fist, and dragged him closer, only to club him in the face with his elbow, clearly dislocating the man's jaw and knocking out teeth, "Fthuck!" the man screamed in pain, and the hybrid fell to the floor, like the taijutsu user. This left the remaining hybrid and genjutsu user, who each stood at a distance.

"I don't want to hurt any more of you," Tobirama admitted regretfully, "I am very effective in dispelling genjutsu, and the moment you use it, I will have already disabled it and will have likely killed you."

The two Uchiha looked at each other, one who seemed furious and another who seemed to want to leave.

"If you leave, I promise I will not pursue you. I will let you gather your wounded and dead if you do so quickly and without further conflict," he continued calmly, "Please accept my offer!"

The angry Uchiha nodded resentfully, and the other bowed her thanks, "We will take your offer," she said distraughtly, her Sharingan deactivated and the pair left within a split second.

Tobirama sighed and looked at his new white armour, and noticed it was smeared with blood, "Maybe Madara was onto something when he selected red armour." He looked to Hashirama, who seemed to have finished with Madara, and Tobi listened carefully.

"-You know that there are no winners here, Madara!" Hashirama shouted frustratedly, apparently unharmed, "Your Mangekyo Sharingan may be powerful, but there is no way that you can defeat me with it!"

Madara on the otherhand seemed to be exhausted, and blood ran in streams from his red Sharingan eyes, "You bastard!"

Hashirama shook his head at him, "Take your brother Madara," he said with pity, "And leave before we kill you." The wooden prison unwound from Izuna's body, and Izuna stumbled to his feet, and ran immediately to Madara's side to brace him. Madara opened his mouth to say something, and no sound emerged. Izuna gave one last hateful look at Hashirama, and Tobirama who had now joined him at his side.

And the Uchiha, dead and alive, all left together.


	2. Chapter 2

The Nidaime

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: Tobirama Senju was the Nidaime Hokage. Where other Kage have had their stories told, and had their backgrounds fleshed out through historical books and lessons at the Academy, Tobirama had not. But this was mostly because he _alone_ wanted to tell his story.

Author's Note: No Tobirama this chapter, but the story still progresses!

* * *

An Uchiha Interlude

Madara lay on a padded bed in the largest and most well-guarded tent. Both of his eyes were wrapped with bandages, yet the blood that had started to flow since their fight with the Senju had not stopped flowing. The surviving Uchiha had spread the news of an attempt at peace by the Senju within the hour, and there were definite signs of a mixed reception.

Izuna sat at Madara's side solemnly. He after Madara, was the strongest in clan, and if it was found that Madara would no longer be able to fight, Izuna would be placed at the clan's helm. 'But I don't want that,' Izuna thought desperately, 'I would do anything for my big brother to be alright again!'

"Izu… na…"

Izuna turned his full attention to Madara, "Are you alright big brother?" he asked shakily, "Thank you for coming to get me."

"It's alright," Madara rasped in reply. Madara had fallen unconscious shortly after they had returned, and under the supervision of medics he had regained consciousness numerous times. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Madara," Izuna said worriedly, "You should be more worried about yourself." His eyes took in Madara's pitiful form. Madara had been stripped of his dark red armour, and he lay unclothes under a thin white blanket. His brother was bandaged from his nose to the very top of his forehead, his ivory-pale skin was bruised black and blue in certain places, and his shaggy long hair was splashed against his pillow, slightly singed (from what must have been a deflected fire technique). Izuna could only feel depressed when he looked at Madara, his handsome older brother who had done so much, only to be blinded in the prime of his life: His job, his worth as a man, even his appeal as a warrior would be taken away from him all because of the Senju.

Madara was silent for a moment, "My eyes must be bleeding still if the bandages are still over them." Madara's hands wandered over his face carefully, "I'm not wounded other than my eyes I suppose?"

"No you're not," Izuna shook his head, "None of the medics understand what is wrong with your eyes. All we know is that you are blind."

"It must have been the Mangekyo," Madara said thoughtfully, "Maybe I used it too much, and it overloaded the chakra receptors in my eyes."

Izuna said nothing in reply for a moment, and he felt a burning admiration for his brave older brother who chose to ignore his fate, "Maybe you're right."

"So it looks like you are going to be the leader of the clan now, Izuna," Madara said with pride, "And you'll be even better than me."

"I'd never be better than you," Izuna said quickly and truthfully, "I wish that I was the one who was blind, and that it never happened to you! It was my fault after all…"

Madara smiled emptily, "But you have eyes, and I don't… it's not like you can change that."

"There are eye transplants," the younger brother said, his tone clearly distressed. Madara's smile did not change.

"We have no Uchiha to hand who have died with the Sharingan," Madara said conversationally, "and those that died today aren't my blood type, so it's possible that my body would reject the eye."

Izuna sputtered, "But surely one of the Uchiha clan would give you their eyes? An elder perhaps? There are some people among the clan who do not have much to live for."

"Don't be silly little brother," Madara lectured, "I could never ask somebody to give me their eyes, and we don't even know what would happen. As I had the Mangekyo, would I retain that ability? Would the eye change? There are too many variables to count."

"You can take my eyes," Izuna said unthinkingly, "We are the same bloodtype, and we both have the Mangekyo."

Madara laughed and patted his brother's knee, "Do not worry my brother, I trust you to lead the clan to greatness. I am sure I can still be of _some_ service to you," he promised.

"You will take my eyes," Izuna continued firmly, "If you promise me something."

The Uchiha clan leader hummed thoughtfully, "What would you want me to promise?"

Izuna started to unwrap the bandages around Madara's head, and Madara did not make a move to stop him, "Promise, my beloved brother, promise me that you will use my eyes to dominate the Senju clan."

Madara's bloodied bandages fell upon his long mane of hair, and Madara uttered his response, "I promise." And he reached his arm up to where he knew Izuna was, his fingers a single inch away from Izuna's spinning Mangekyo Sharingan eyes, "I promise you, my beloved brother."

And on this night, blood slapped against the tent floor, a young man's sight was sacrificed for what he considered the good of his clan, and his elder brother's plans had come to fruition.


End file.
